Disney's "Hunchback" Becomes A Stage Musical

Disney has announced a "special arrangement" to allow a stage musical based on their 1996 animated feature adaptation of Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Alan Menken ("Beauty and the Beast," "Little Shop of Horrors") and Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked," "Pippin") penned the music and lyrics of the Oscar-nominated score from the film which will be re-used here.

Peter Parnell ("The West Wing") will pen the book, Josh Bergasse will choreograph, and Stephen's son Scott Schwartz will direct. The musical will run October 28th – December 7th in the Mandell Weiss Theatre at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse ahead of a possible Broadway run.

The musical was actually first produced in Germany more than a decade ago but has not been seen in the United States.